# Dance studio workshop and intensive ideas that fill the room

> Intensives, adult beginner classes, guest masterclasses and socials for dance studios, plus a way to test which ones dancers want before you book the teacher.

Dance studios make their biggest scheduling bets in two places: the summer intensive and the guest teacher. Both are booked and paid before the first dancer signs up. Get it right and the studio has its best month of the year. Get it wrong and a masterclass runs for eight people at a guest-teacher rate. Here is a list of workshops, intensives and classes that fill, and a way to find out which ones your dancers want before you commit the studio.

## Intensives and camps

**Summer contemporary intensive (one to two weeks).** Technique in the morning, repertoire in the afternoon, a showing at the end. The flagship for most studios.

**Pre-pointe strength course.** A four-week course for the dancers about to go on pointe. Parents will pay for anything that prevents an injury.

**Regional competition prep camp.** A short intensive for the comp team in the weeks before the season.

**Holiday recital add-on class.** An extra weekly class in the run-up to the recital, sold as polish.

**Musical theatre week.** Singing, acting and dancing for kids who love the stage more than the barre.

## Workshops for kids and teens

**Guest teacher masterclass weekend.** The right guest fills the studio; the wrong one costs a deposit. Vote before you book.

**Teen commercial dance drop-in.** Music they know, choreography they can post. High energy, high word of mouth.

**Boys' dance class.** A named class changes who walks through the door.

**Improvisation lab.** For advanced students who want to create, not just execute.

## Adult classes, the under-served market

Adult beginners are the biggest growth opportunity most studios ignore. The classes below fill when the time is right for adults, which means evenings after seven and weekend mornings, not the after-school peak.

- **Adult beginner ballet.** The most requested adult class, and the one most often scheduled at a time adults cannot make.
- **Tap for adults.** Social, loud, addictive.
- **Heels choreography drop-in.** Confidence, cardio and a routine to show friends.
- **Hip hop for absolute beginners.** Say "absolute" in the name; it is the word that gets people through the door.
- **Wedding first-dance crash course.** Four sessions, two people, a premium price.
- **Seniors' gentle barre.** Daytime, chairs available, a loyal crowd.
- **Dance fitness at lunchtime.** For the office crowd within walking distance.

## Socials

**Salsa and bachata Friday night.** A class then open dancing. Brings non-members into the building.

**Choreography showcase night.** Students show work in progress to friends and family. Free, fun, and it sells the next term.

**Parent and toddler movement.** Saturday mornings. The toddlers become your Little Stars class in two years.

## How to choose before you book the studio

Studios usually decide by instinct, then announce, then hope. A better order:

1. **Shortlist four or five ideas** for the coming term: one intensive, one guest, two adult classes, one social.
2. **Tag each by age group and level.** Kids, teens, adults, beginner, advanced. Add a time tag for the adult classes.
3. **Ask dancers and parents to vote** with an email. One link in the parents' group, one Instagram story, one sign by the studio door.
4. **Read the ranking and the tags.** The vote often shows an adult class wanted at 7:30pm, not 5pm, or an intensive wanted for a different week.
5. **Book the winner and email the voters** the day registration opens. They asked for it; they fill the first spots and their friends fill the rest.

One studio floated a summer intensive and a guest masterclass side by side. The intensive won three to one. The guest booking waited a season, the intensive sold out, and no deposit was lost.

## Adding it to your registration system

The vote runs in front of whatever you use for enrolment. Validate the class, then open registration in your usual system with a list of interested families already in hand.

For more workshop and class ideas filtered for dance studios, try the [free idea generator](/tools/class-idea-generator?facility=dance-studio). To price an intensive so it covers the guest teacher, use the [break-even calculator](/tools/break-even-calculator). And to run the vote, see [CrowdPleaser for dance studios](/dance-studio).